Winter in South America

One night last week the sleek, fast, 9.375-ton cruiser Quincy weighed anchor and headed south, for the wintry seas off the coast of South America. Her destination was unannounced. Her mission was tersely described as a "goodwill cruise"--although at the same moment the projected training cruise to Rio de Janeiro of the New York, the Texas, the Arkansas, was suddenly canceled.

Tearing through the blue Caribbean, the Quincy headed for a troubled continent where winter and war were beginning to be felt. Through cooling May and into chilly June, winter moved northward from the South Pole; the cold southwest storm winds were blowing from the Argentine pampas across southern Brazil. South American economy was shaken by the speed and magnitude of Hitler's conquests: Bolivia lost 36% of her trade outlets through the war. The European countries swallowed by Hitler once absorbed 60% of Argentina's corn; 56% of her hides; 40% of her wool; 25% of her wheat. And South America, with fifth columnists exploiting explosive political situations, with depression threatening and winter closing in, provided potential trouble spots to keep the Quincy's steam up:

Uruguay. Most troubled, nerve-racked country was Uruguay, where a Government investigating committee unearthed a network of Nazi organizations controlling the lives of 3,000 Germans. Last week wild talk swept through Montevideo of an impending invasion of Uruguay from southern Brazil, where dwell close to a million Germans. Uruguay appropriated $5,000,000 for warplanes and coast artillery (Argentina put up $40,000,000 to buy equipment and 400 planes) and Uruguay's President, tough, fast-moving Alfredo Boldomir, demanded powers to modify freedom of assembly for anti-democratic organizations.

Argentina. One day last week a wheat-laden Argentine freighter, the Uruguay, was stopped by a German submarine, blown to smithereens. In Buenos Aires this explosion brought a new climax to anti-fifth-column feeling, bred riots, led to charges that fifth columnists had provided information that led to the sinking, brought Argentina's war fever to a new high.

But there was little that South America, dependent on the U. S. for hemispherical defense, could do. Last week U. S. citizens were newly shocked at evidence of Nazi penetration when news leaked out that the U. S. was dickering with Ecuador to get rid of the German-operated Sedta Airline there. German lines bulk large in South America, flew 23,750 miles last year (Pan-American: 21,300), operate chiefly in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru. Last February Colombia responded gracefully to State Department pressure, agreed to replace German airmen with native Colombian pilots. Concern over Ecuador's Sedta Airline had a simple source: the 17-passenger, trimotored Junkers" used by Sedta would make possible bombers, good troop transports, fly only 890 miles from the Panama Canal.

To many a confidant Adolf Hitler has explained that South America is an easy conquest for a determined revolutionist. Last week from Rome, Correspondent John T. Whitaker summed up fascist opinion on how he could do it: "The Germans . . . will have you helpless long before it is necessary to match arms with you. . . . They will strip you of trade first. . . . Britain has been your best customer. Conquered, she will be your customer no longer. . . . Without markets your armaments and welfare programs will destroy you ... for you cannot find these billions as your national income declines. Your unemployment will mount. Your social unrest will mount. You will be ready for propaganda and sabotage. . . . We are already destroying your own confidence in your democratic system. You cannot make up your minds and act."

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